Sir George Rawdon, 1st Baronet

Sir George Rawdon, 1st Baronet (1604–1684), of Moira, County Down, was an English army officer and politician. He fought under General Monck in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, served in Ireland for the Commonwealth, and in 1659-60 cooperated with Monck as a royal commissioner in the restoration of Charles II.

Early life Born in November 1604, he was the only son of Francis Rawdon (1581?–1668) of Rawdon Hall, near Leeds. His mother, Dorothy, daughter of William Aldborough, was married in 1603 and died in 1660. He went to court about 1625, and became private secretary to Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway, the Secretary of State. In 1625 he was sent to The Hague on business connected with Charles's promised subsidy to Protestant allies. After Conway's death, in 1631, Rawdon was attached to his son Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway, who had a large estate in County Down. Acting as Lord Conway's secretary or agent, Rawdon generally lived in his London house, near St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, but paid frequent visits to his employer's country seats and to his Irish property. He sat in the Irish parliament of 1639 as a member in the Chichester interest for the neighboring borough of Belfast.

At war When the Irish Rebellion of 1641 broke out on 23 October 1641, Rawdon was in London. He posted to Scotland, crossed to Bangor, and reached Lisburn on 27 November. He found the town held by Sir Arthur Tyringham, with Lord Conway's troop and some badly armed levies. Sir Phelim O'Neill attacked the next morning, but was twice beaten off. In their retreat, the Irish burned Brookhill with Conway's library in it and property belonging to Rawdon, who was wounded and had a horse shot under him. Rawdon was one of those to whom Sir Phelim some weeks later wrote letters with the signature "Tyrone", after his mock investiture at Tullaghoge. Conway's troop of horse was expanded into a regiment, the officers being appointed by the English parliament, and Rawdon became major. About this time Rawdon was active in obtaining the help of Valentine Greatrakes for his invalid sister-in-law Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway.

In 1666 Rawdon was employed in organising the Ulster militia. He was on good terms with Jeremy Taylor, and was hostile to the Presbyterians. He died in August 1684, and was buried with an elaborate funeral at Lisburn.

Family Rawdon married, in 1635, Ursula, daughter of Sir Francis Stafford, and widow of Francis Hill, but she and her only child died in the following year. On 4 September 1654, he married at Arrow church, Warwickshire, Dorothy, eldest daughter of The Viscount Conway, by whom he had seven sons and three daughters. His third but eldest surviving son, Arthur (d. 1695), was the grandfather of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira (1720–1793).